Glossary

3/2 PULLDOWN A process of reconciling the difference between film rate and video rate. When film that runs at 24 fps is transferred to interlaced video running at 30 fps, it becomes necessary to compensate for the additional six frames. This is accomplished by inserting an extra field to every other frame. With the increasing popularity of 24 fps progressive video, this requirement is disappearing.

3D Any stereoscopic projection system that produces a three-dimensional effect for the audience. Utilizing the manner in which humans perceive depth through the comparison between information perceived by two eyes, 3D processes equip cameras with double lenses, slightly offset to mimic the different angle from which two eyes perceive objects. This double image was originally recreated by running two interlocked projectors with the same images simultaneously and later by printing the two offset images onto a single filmstrip. Special lenses, originally red and blue but later employing polarized light, isolated the separate images for each eye.

A

ACADEMY LEADER A span of film preceding the first frame of picture in order to allow synchronization of sound during editing and release printing. The leader has a picture start mark, a countdown with audible pop for sync at the two-second or 3-foot mark. This is followed by 3 feet of black to allow for a smooth changeover during projection. Though the sweep leader has been used interchangeably with film and video, it was originally intended for use with television as a countdown in seconds. The theatrical film leader displays its countdown in feet. Both run for the same length.

ADR Automated dialogue replacement. A process previously known as looping designed to substitute good dialogue for bad or poorly recorded dialogue. When an actor’s reading falls below the director’s expectations or the ambient sound in a scene has rendered the dialogue difficult to understand, the actor rerecords his or her lines in a soundproof booth. These are later cut into the sequence to replace the previous sound.

ALPHA A transparent video channel. When alpha is turned on, images behind it are revealed. A common example is titles. The text is composited with an alpha channel so that background images can be seen behind the title.

ANAMORPHIC A widescreen process that involves squeezing the image through the taking lens of the camera, then unsqueezing it at the projection stage. This allows a greater amount of information to be optically compressed into the film frame and then displayed across a wider screen area. The process was originally developed in France by Dr. Henri Chrétien, then purchased and renamed CinemaScope by 20th Century Fox. Following its introduction many other widescreen processes appeared, including Technirama, Vistascope, Superscope, VistaVision (where the film moved through the camera sideways) and Techniscope (using half-sized frames that were stretched into full frames in the lab).

ASPECT RATIO The height-to-width proportion of the picture frame. The newest aspect ratio, 16 × 9, was derived by incorporating the theatrical standard widescreen of 1:1.85 with the television scan. The previous TV standard was 4 × 3 or 1:1.33 based on the frame size of the 16 mm frame used in early television news coverage, as well as the requirements of the electronic scan. Anamorphic 35 mm is 1:2.35.

AVID MEDIA COMPOSER Avid’s standard digital nonlinear editing system for motion pictures and television. Avid contains sophisticated tools for sound design, multi-camera editing, and visual effects with little or no need for rendering.

AVID UNITY A network of drives allowing multiple editors at multiple stations to work on the same project.

B

B-ROLL Originally referred to the tape deck used to play the supporting material that reinforced information from on-camera interviews. This deck was labeled B, while the primary deck containing the interviews was A.

C

CAPTURE To input digital media into a nonlinear editing system.

CGI Computer-Generated Images. The creation of objects and characters using 2D or 3D computer graphic software. Film series like X-Men, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter rely heavily on this.

CHANGEOVER MARK Indicators that are placed at the end of a film reel to signal to the theater’s projectionist that the current reel is ending and the next reel should begin. They appear on screen as dots or circles in the case of release prints or slash marks in the case of a workprint, both occurring in the upper right-hand corner. These marks are placed 12 feet and 1.5 feet from the end of the reel signal projector start and changeover, respectively. At the appearance of the first mark the projectionist turns on the second projector and then, at the second mark, he throws the douser that covers the beam on the first projector while exposing the beam on the second projector. With the advent of multiplex cinemas, this became unwieldy, so the entire movie was spooled onto a gigantic platter, eliminating the need for a changeover. With the arrival of digital projection, the need for changeovers was eliminated. The entire movie is now contained within a single video file.

CIRCLED TAKES The director’s preferred takes within a scene. In the case of film, these are the ones that will be printed.

CODEC An abbreviation for coder/decoder or compressor/decompressor. In order to minimize the consumption of hard drive space on the computer where the media and rendered effects reside, it’s necessary to utilize a compression scheme. By compressing the media into smaller packets, the codec allows the editing system to perform more efficiently. Initially, when memory was at a premium, it was necessary to create sophisticated codecs to shrink complex information into a small enough space to avoid overtaxing the system’s speed and memory. Now as hard drives expand from gigabytes to terabytes and eventually to petabytes, more memory becomes available, but cameras grow in capacity as well, moving from standard definition to high definition. This in turn requires greater memory consumption, so well-designed codecs remain an important issue. Some current codecs include Avid’s DNxHD, Panasonic’s DVCPRO HD, and Apple’s Intermediate Codec.

COLOR CORRECTION Also known as grading or timing, color correction is the art of enhancing the color, contrast, and density of a video image. Most NLE systems contain color correction effects. In Avid two color correction filters, Color Effect and Color Correction, reside in the Effects palette and are launched from the Effects Editor and the Color Correction pulldown window, respectively. The initial correction can be saved and applied to similar shots throughout the sequence. Almost every shot requires some manner of color correction, whether it was shot raw or standard. This is influenced by the conditions under which the scene was shot, the color and density of the surrounding shots, or the need for any special effect, such as desaturation or high contrast.

COMPLETION BOND A form of insurance that guarantees the film’s completion, even if the director fails to deliver or the film goes over budget. Studios, due to their deep pockets, don’t usually rely on bond companies. Independent productions with any sizable budget generally include a completion bond in their budgets.

COMPONENT VIDEO A type of video signal that has been divided into two or more separate signals for high-quality transmission. Generally, the signals are carried by S-Video cables or by red, green, and blue RCA plugs designated as YPbPr for luma and chroma, or by discreet, uncompressed color signals as RGB. It can carry everything from 480i to 1080p.

COMPOSITE PRINT The 35 mm film print with a soundtrack printed along its edge. The first version of this married print is known as the first trial answer print. When ready for exhibition in theaters, it is called a final release print.

COMPOSITE VIDEO An analog video signal that combines three different signals for brightness, hue, and color saturation, also known as YUV. The signals are generally carried by a yellow RCA jack. laserdiscs utilized a true composite signal.

COMPOSITING The combination of multiple images within a frame. Previously this was accomplished by incorporating mattes in an optical printer. Today most compositing occurs in a computerized environment.

CPU Central Processing Unit. This is the microprocessor chip that runs the computer. It performs according to instructions from the operating system (OS) software. In recent years, faster processing speeds allow for quicker and smoother performance in nonlinear editing systems.

CUT The physical or, in current use, virtual separation of one section of media from another. Geographically, the place where one shot is joined to another one is at the cut. Electronic nonlinear editing has introduced many new terms to the editing vernacular. What is often referred to as a sequence also used to be known as a cut.

D

DAILIES Also known as rushes, dailies are the scenes and takes from the previous day’s shooting. If shot on film, these are usually transferred onto a digital format, such as digital tape or a hard drive, and then captured into the nonlinear editing system.

DA VINCI A state-of-the-art color grading system.

DCP The Digital Cinema Package is a worldwide standard for digital cinema projection. It replaces the 35 mm film print as the standard for feature film exhibition. Compressed MXF audio and video files are wrapped into a USB drive or CRU hard drive, sometimes with encryption, for projection in a movie theater. Unlike 35 mm film prints, the DCP’s image does not degrade over time. And it can be recorded over and reused. The cost of producing and shipping a DCP is a fraction of the cost of producing a 35 mm release print.

DI Digital intermediate. This format replaces the film interpositive as a way of producing duplicate negatives to be used during release printing of the motion picture. The advantages of the DI lie in the fact that the original negative or high-definition master can be scanned into a computer’s hard drive and manipulated to correct color, introduce effects, remove scratches, and so on, then recorded back out to create a new 35 mm negative. Unlike the film interpositive, the DI does not introduce another generation of grain that would degrade the image.

DIGITIZE A term that is being edged out by the term capture, where media, generally from videotape, is imported into the nonlinear editing system. Since the dailies were originally transferred to analog tape, they then had to be converted into digital format—digitized—in order to play on the computer. Now that most videotape is digital, there is no need to digitize it. With the arrival of digital cards such as the P2, XD, and SD, “capture” has evolved to “transfer.”

DIT The Digital Image Technician is a relatively new job that has appeared on film sets. The DIT is responsible for managing media as it leaves the camera. This can include uploading the camera card to a hard drive or Cloud drive, color correcting RAW media by applying LUTs, and labeling and organizing dailies for nonlinear editing. Some of the functions previously performed by assistant editors have migrated into the realm of the DIT.

DOWNCONVERT Copying high-resolution media to a lower resolution format in order to increase processing speed and decrease memory usage.

DRAG AND DROP A nonlinear editing feature, found on systems like Final Cut Pro, for moving clips from bins into the timeline and from one position on the timeline to another. The editor clicks on the desired clip, then drags it across from the Browser into the Viewer window or downward into the timeline. If the clip contains in and out points, the selected portion will be edited into the timeline.

E

EDGE NUMBERS Numbers that are printed in ink on the side of the positive workprint and corresponding soundtrack in order to maintain sync. They also allow the editor and their assistants to log every frame of film.

EDITDROID George Lucas’s system that used laserdiscs to store media. While requiring that the dailies be burned to two redundant laserdiscs, EditDroid offered a graphical interface with a timeline, source, and record monitors, much like current nonlinear editing systems. Though it received fairly limited use, it became the true pioneer of the timeline-based systems in use today. One of EditDroid’s disadvantages lay in its use of laserdiscs that had to be burned professionally, usually at a remote laboratory.

EDL Edit decision list. A log generated during the offline editing session, reflecting the in and out points and duration of each cut, as well as indicating the original source material. The EDL is used to recompile the editor’s cut using original footage in an online session.

ELLIPSIS The omission of a linear element in action, story, or dialogue that, while normally included, does not affect comprehension when removed. The ellipsis aids pacing by leaving out elements that aren’t absolutely necessary. A jump cut is an example of an ellipsis.

F

FLEX FILE A text file created during the telecine process to link the film’s key numbers with the timecode of the video media on which the dailies have been transferred. This information is loaded into the offline editing system. It also contains scene, take, camera roll, and audio roll information. When this information is inputted into the Avid, it allows for the telecine tape to be batch digitized with complete location information.

FOP/FFOP First frame of picture.

FPS Frames per second.

FULLY FILLED Refers to delivery of effects tracks where the entire motion picture is 100% filled with sound so no dead spaces exist. The sound can consist of ambience, Foley, or hard effects. This requirement relates to the delivery of M&E (music and effects) tracks.

G

GOP Group of pictures. The manner in which images are preserved on DVDs in order to encode a large amount of detailed information in a small space. Using this MPEG compression scheme, an actual full picture occurs at set intervals, with the interstitial frames consisting of only the variations from the full frame. The collection of information from the full frame to the last recorded variation is known as the GOP.

GPU Graphics Processing Unit. This chip is responsible for image processing, including video rendering and playback, through a computer’s motherboard or graphics card.

GREENSCREEN A solid green background upon which actors or foreground objects are photographed, enabling a background scene to be composited in postproduction. In order for the greenscreen to work effectively, it must be evenly illuminated and the foreground objects should be lit so as to differentiate them from the background.

H

HD High definition or high def. High definition, which by nature is digital, divides into various resolutions ranging from 720 to 1080, various frame rates from 24 to 60, and a choice between interlaced and progressive.

HDMI High Definition Multimedia Interface. An audio/video interface capable of transmitting uncompressed video and up to eight channels of uncompressed audio. It provides the next generation up from component video for use with high-definition monitors.

HEAD BED The string of interviews or talking heads in a documentary. Through digital nonlinear editing, the construction of these tracks has become much easier.

I

INSERT SHOT A close-up of a significant object within the context of a larger scene.

INTERCUTting Alternating shots or scenes within a sequence.

J

J-CUT A type of dialogue overlap where the incoming character’s dialogue (Character B) is heard under the picture of Character A before cutting to Character B.

JUMP CUT A discontinuous cut that leaps forward in time, thereby producing gaps in the normal sequence of actions. Some of the first notable jump cuts used for artistic purposes occurred in films of the French New Wave, such as those of Godard and Truffaut.

K

KEM Keller-Elektronik-Mechanik. The German-made flatbed editing machines capable of displaying multiple picture and sound heads in formats ranging from 35 mm Academy to CinemaScope and VistaVision. The KEM 8-plate Universal, introduced in 1960, became the standard Hollywood editing machine for several decades before being replaced by computerized nonlinear editing systems such as the Avid.

KEYKODE A latent barcode that corresponds to the film’s key numbers. These appear when the exposed camera negative is developed. The codes are read by an electronic reader connected to the telecine machine. In order to make conforming of the original negative to the editor’s cut sequence possible, the codes are transferred into the nonlinear editing system. In this way the NLE system can reference each frame of media. As the editor makes his or her cuts, every decision is recorded by the editing machine in terms of codes, in order to be used at a later time to compile the cut list.

KEY NUMBERS Latent edge numbers that Eastman Kodak, Fuji, or other film manufacturers embed into the edge of motion picture film negative. Upon developing, these numbers appear. They consist of two letters designating the type of film stock and a series of numbers occurring at 1-foot intervals on 35 mm and half-foot intervals on 16 mm. The film negative’s edge numbers print through to the positive workprint.

L

L-CUT A type of dialogue overlap where the dialogue from the first character (Character A) continues under the picture of the second character (Character B), after the cut.

LASERDISC The first optical disc storage medium using helium-neon lasers to read the composite video information. The laserdisc was about the size of a vinyl record and was the precursor to the CD, DVD, and Blu-ray discs. Early computer-based editing systems, such as EditFlex and EditDroid, used the laserdisc to store the video and audio information.

LINKINGThe process of creating direct access to media files by way of a proxy. By linking, the editor can begin editing without the need to transcode or import media.

LUT Look Up Table. When shooting raw footage—an increasingly frequent practice— the camera department may deliver dailies to the editing room that appear washed out and of low contrast. In fact, these RAW files allow much greater latitude than footage where the color is predetermined by the camera. The catch—editors or their assistants must apply basic color correction, known as LUTs, to the RAW media in order to make it look presentable. LUTs derive from a number of sources, including cinematographers, camera manufacturers, colorists, or editors. Customized LUTs that give unique or unusual color corrections can be found on the internet. On the set, the DIT may apply a LUT before uploading the dailies to the editing room. A side note: LOG files are nearly as effective as RAW, but use less memory space.

M

M&E Music and effects tracks produced during the rerecording stage and supplied to a distributor for use in foreign distribution. Since this mix lacks dialogue it allows foreign distributors to supply dubbed dialogue in their native languages.

MATCHBACK For film dailies that are transferred to video and then conformed back to film after they are edited. By tracking timecode and key numbers, the NLE system can create a negative cut list for matching the video decisions back to the original film negative. When setting up a project on an NLE system, the editor must designate the film matchback option before proceeding with the editing process.

MATTE A film or video silhouette that, when combined with other images, allows a portion of an image to be transmitted while holding back the rest of it. Mattes provide the elements for compositing multiple images.

META-DATA Production information that is captured by the camera and encoded into the media file. Data such as date, frame rate, color space, camera lens, and so on can be accessed through the meta-data.

MOS Mit Out Sound. A Hollywood term with a German-sounding phrase, MOS, like many film terms, was originally coined as an on-set joke. When immigrant director Erich von Stroheim announced with his Austrian accent that he was going to shoot the next take “Mit out sound,” the set culture picked it up and repeated the German word “mit,” meaning “with,” until it became the abbreviated form known today.

MOTION CAPTURE Abbreviated as mo-cap, this process employs iridescent markers placed across the body or face. As the subject moves before the lights, the markers glow, pinpointing every movement. These spots are captured and stored into the computer, creating a moving skeleton on which skin, clothing, fur, and other textures can be placed.

MOVIOLA The world’s first editing machine. Its inventor, a Dutch-born electrical engineer, Iwan Serrurier, dubbed his home movie player the Moviola, a takeoff on the home music player of the time, the Victrola. The Moviola became the standard editing machine for over 60 years.

MPEG Moving Picture Experts Group’s acronym for a compression standard used for encoding digital audio and video information. Coincidentally, it is also the abbreviation for the Motion Picture Editors Guild.

MULTI-CAM EDITING In nonlinear editing, the ability to view multiple cameras and edit them by using the mouse, switcher, or keystrokes to navigate between cameras. In Avid, up to nine synchronous cameras can be encoded into a single video track and viewed together in the Source monitor.

N

NEGATIVE CUT LIST The list that is generated by an NLE system and consists of in and out codes representing every cut in the movie. This list, along with timecoded video, allows the negative cutter to accurately conform the film negative to the NLE sequence. Once the negative is conformed, it can be printed onto positive stock or transferred to a digital medium such as a DI.

NONLINEAR EDITING Also known as NLE. The computerized editing systems that allow instantaneous random access to any frame of media. During the editing process clips can be arranged and rearranged, inserted, or deleted at any point in the sequence, eliminating the need to rebuild the cut starting at a change point, as was the case with linear tape-to-tape systems. NLE systems accomplish this task by accessing established media through mutable addresses. These addresses are easily stored as text files for project backup or to create EDLs or negative cut lists.

NTSC The video standard organization in the United States known as the National Television System Committee. The analog composite video standard is 525 vertical lines per frame at 30 frames per second (or 60 half frames, interlaced). In Europe the PAL standard allows for 625 lines at 25 frames per second. Digital high definition is making these standards obsolete.

O

OCN Original camera negative.

OPTICAL PRINTER The standard tool for creating motion picture effects before the introduction of digital manipulation. The optical printer was basically a projector joined to a camera, allowing for the introduction of effects when re-photographing a film image. Its uses ranged from creating dissolves and wipes to compositing mattes and titles, employing a process known as bi-packing.

P

PAPER CUT Constructing a cut by viewing raw footage and noting the timecodes. This timecode list is then brought into the editing session as a guide to build the sequence.

PARALLEL EDITING The juxtaposition of images to give the sense of different activities occurring in different environments at the same time. Also known as cross-cutting. The early film director D. W. Griffith was responsible for the development of parallel cutting which first appeared in Edwin S. Porter’s The Great Train Robbery (1903).

PERSISTENCE OF VISION A phenomenon where the mind briefly recalls the previous film or video frame, blending the images in order to create the illusion of movement. Some believe it results from a brief afterimage on the retina. In recent years, however, skeptics have questioned the theory’s validity in general.

PICKUP An additional shot that covers a portion of a previous take, using the same setup. This also refers to additional coverage gathered after the initial production.

PICTURE FILL Sometimes referred to as sound fill; it has been replaced by the slug in NLE editing. When the audio resided on sound film, recycled picture film was used to slug out areas of the soundtrack where no audio occurred, such as MOS sections, in order to maintain sync. The fill usually came from old or faulty release prints that had been withdrawn from circulation.

PICTURE SAFE The area of a video image that will actually be seen on a standard television monitor. While the entire image may appear on the computer monitor, a certain amount of cutoff can occur when transferred to television monitors. NLE systems offer a setting that will display a grid designating the safe area.

PLATE The action background that joins with foreground characters or objects, either in the CG realm—such as the digitally created dinosaurs performing in front of live action sets in Jurassic Park (1993)—or as backgrounds for rear-screen projection.

POV Point of view. An angle that portrays the scene through a character’s eyes. It may be a roving handheld shot, as when a character enters an ostensibly empty room and searches for another occupant. Or it might be a static angle, such as when a character peers through a telescope.

PREMIERE PRO Adobe’s digital nonlinear editing system. Currently, subscriptions allow access to the single product or to bundled applications in the Creative Suite, including tools for digital imaging, animation, and audio production. Premiere Pro is an excellent application for short form projects, such as commercials, music videos, trailers, and YouTube videos. At this writing, its frequent rendering requirements, time-consuming loading times, and slower response rates (as project timelines grow in length with multiple versions) make it less desirable for feature film editing.

PROGRESSIVE An advance from the original interlaced video format that required the image to be constructed from two frames, each displaying half of the image—one with the odd-numbered lines and the other with the even-numbered lines. Progressive video displays each frame in its entirety.

Q

QUICKTIME Apple’s proprietary codec for encoding and playing back audio and full motion video of various formats. Designated in a file extension as. mov, it is capable of running on Mac and Windows operating systems.

R

RADIO CUT An audio portrayal of what comprises the documentary, generally built from interviews and the temporary narration.

REEL Stored on metal or plastic reels, the completed cut was divided into various parts, such as Reel 1, Reel 2, and so on. A reel become synonymous with a portion of edited movie. A film reel is either 1000 feet long or, in the case of an A-B reel for theaters, 2000 feet long. On average a film runs 10 to 12 1000-foot reels long.

ROLL The uncut material, such as in a daily roll, a Moviola roll, or a KEM roll. These range in size from several feet for a Moviola roll to 1000 feet for a daily roll or KEM roll.

ROOMTONE The set’s neutral ambience, usually recorded at the beginning or end of the shoot. Roomtone supplies the necessary audio fill for places where the sound would otherwise drop out, such as in MOS or ADR situations. In practice, editors sometimes prefer to cull ambience from pauses between dialogue lines, rather than use prerecorded roomtone, since the ambience is often truer. For instance, clothing movement or a passing plane may occur in one area but remain absent during the standard recording of roomtone.

ROTOSCOPE The frame-by-frame creation of a matte. Rotoscope is often used to produce a matte where one was not originally intended, such as replacing a label on a bottle. In Mac and Me (1988), for instance, the apple juice cans used to be Coca-Cola cans. Rather than let the ubiquitous brand proliferate in the film, it was decided to alter it occasionally by rotoscoping in a different label. In the celluloid era this was time-consuming and sometimes inaccurate work. It was often used as a last-ditch effort, with greenscreen as the preferred compositing technique. Today computers make drawing the matte, and the ability to interpolate between a range of frames rather than working frame by frame, significantly easier and more accurate.

In many cases rotoscope allows filmmakers to achieve a composite similar to that which could have been accomplished with a greenscreen background. In the case of the film Gravity (2013), rotoscope was anticipated beforehand. It was chosen in lieu of greenscreen as an adjunct to a new technique where the actor, surrounded by LED screens depicting the surrounding environment. This allowed the actors to interact with actual surroundings rather than having to imagine them. Later the LED screens were removed by rotoscope and the final environment, as well as the space suits and helmets, were composited in.

S

SCRIPTSYNC Avid’s text-based editing feature. After importing a text file of the shooting script, the editor can link each character’s lines to the corresponding media. By clicking on a particular line of text, the editor can play back the associated dialogue take.

SD Standard definition or standard def. Its standards vary depending on regions throughout the world, generally from 525 to 625 vertical lines of resolution. The main standards include NTSC, PAL, and SECAM.

SEQUENCE A series of scenes, such as in a chase sequence where multiple actions take place over a variety of locations. With the advent of nonlinear editing, sequence has also come to refer to the entire series of shots comprising a scene or entire movie. The sequence is represented by video and audio tracks, usually designated as V1, V2, and so on, or A1, A2, and so on, along the timeline.

SETPIECE Scenes that an audience will remember for the heightened level of production value and increased stakes. They are carefully conceived beforehand so as to unfold according to a prescribed formula. The Quidditch scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) or the lobby shootout in The Matrix (1999) are examples of memorable setpieces.

SHOCK CUT A staccato tempo to the editing that often results in the cut occurring sooner than the viewer would expect. Originally attributed to editor Dede Allen.

SLATE The clapper sticks used to identify the scene, take, roll number, shooting date as well as the director’s and cinematographer’s names. Scenes are usually designated as 45A-1 and called as “Scene 45 Apple, Take 1.” As amusing as it is to imagine other alphabetic nomenclature, such as Aardvark, Banana, Creampuff, Dingo, and so on, the standard scheme of Apple, Baker, Charlie, and so on provides a ready-made arrangement and understanding as well as a consistency that doesn’t distract the actors’ attention when announced and can be deciphered by an editor.

STEALING A SHOT The use of a scene or portion of a scene in a way that is different from what was intended by the director.

STEENBECK A flatbed editing console produced by Wilhelm Steenbeck of Hamburg, Germany, that uses multiple picture and sound modules. The 16 mm and 35 mm sound and picture film was held in place by pivoting shoes and moved in sync through a system of sprocketed rollers. Where Avid and FCP can be operated using a three-button J-K-L (forward, stop, reverse) scheme similar to the KEM, the Lightworks nonlinear editing system adopted a version of Steenbeck’s slide controller.

STOCK FOOTAGE Material shot by a third party not associated with the film’s production. It is licensed, usually based on time and usage (such as worldwide in perpetuity). Stock footage is generally located through stock footage libraries, though sometimes individual cinematographers will own the rights to unique footage, such as Paul and Gracie Atkins’ well-known coverage of underwater lava flows.

T

TELECINE The process of transferring film images to a video medium such as digital tape or a hard drive. The telecine uses an electronic beam to scan each film frame and turn it into video information.

TIMECODE Also known as SMPTE Timecode or Linear Timecode. An electronic code consisting of hour, minute, seconds, and frames that corresponds to each frame of video or audio. In audio the shift of various tones represents the time signature, while in video it is accessed as a numeric graphic. Timecode functions in drop frame or nondrop frame modes.

TITLE SAFE The area on a television monitor where titles will fit without being cut off. NLE systems offer a setting that will display a grid designating the safe area. When composing a title on an NLE system, it is important to display the title safe reference in order to avoid losing a portion of the title when the sequence is later played back on a TV monitor.

TOD Time of day. A form of timecode where the numeric increments are based on clock time rather than a preset time.

TRANSCODE The process of converting media into a different format. In nonlinear editing proxy media files can be transcoded into stable media files.

TRT Total Running Time. The length of your movie.

TWO-POP One frame of 1000 Hz tone that occurs on a motion picture leader at 3 feet or two seconds before the first frame of picture. In television the countdown leader is depicted as a clocklike sweep that increments by seconds, whereas on feature film the leader’s countdown numbers flash by at every foot. Either way, the two-pop on the soundtrack corresponds with a mark on the picture, confirming that they are in sync.

U

UNDERCRANK The process of accelerating on-screen action by slowing the film’s movement through the camera. In the early days of film, cameras required manual cranking rather than electric motors to drive the moving parts. By undercranking the motor, the film traveled through the camera at less than standard speed, so the action appeared to be moving faster when projected at normal speed. Today, using high-definition cameras, undercranking can be achieved electronically, with no moving parts.

V

VEGAS PRO Sony’s digital nonlinear editing system.

W

WILD SOUND Sound that is not recorded in sync with the picture. Wild sounds, such as ambience, roomtone, and voiceover, may be synced later with the cut in the editing room.